Sealing means



May 12, 1953 R. J. NEBEL 2,638,147

SEALING MEANS Filed Feb. 2, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR BqWMOA D J 4 5554 ATTORNEY R. J. NEBEL SEALING MEANS May 12, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 2, 1950 INVENTOR fliMoA/D J A as EL JA A ATTORNEY y 2, 1953 R. .1. NEBEL 2,638,147

SEALING MEANS Filed Feb. 2, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented May 12, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SEALING MEANS Raymond J. Ncbel, Lincoln Park, N. J.

Application February 2, 1950, Serial No. 141,952

4 Claims.

My invention relates to the fabrication of bags and more particularly to bags constructed of cellulose or other similar diaphanal material.

Machines for fabricating bags and the like usually operate to fold a relatively narrow and lengthwise traveling web or sheet of paper in a manner to provide a substantially flat casing formed on one of its opposed side walls with overlapped side portions or margins secured together by adhesive to define a longitudinal adhesive seam, and which casing is then transversely severed, as it travels or advances through the machine, into sections of predetermined and uniform lengths with the leading end portion of each section being folded over the immediate ad-- jacent portion and secured thereto, by adhesive previously applied to a transversely extending zone of the adjacent portion, to define a transverse adhesive seam which closes one end of the section and thus forms the bottom of a bag. Machines of this type are usually each equipped with a feeding mechanism for effecting travel of the casing at a speed to accord with the length of the bags desired and which mechanism is capable of modification to vary the speed to obtain bags of other desired lengths, the mechanism generally including a set of change gears replaceable with others of different sizes and ratio to change the speed and bag length. In instances where the bags are constructed of cellulose or other fusible material, for example"Pliofi1m, (to provide an attractive package, to render the contents visible, receive finely comminuted material and/or protect the contents from atmospheric moisture entering the bags), the machine is equipped with a heat sealing unit or means effective for sealing or fusing the walls of the casing together to provide transverse fused or heat seals at the bottoms of the bags, the construction of the longitudinal adhesive seam of the casing usually being suflicient without the aid of a longitudinal fused seal for reasons well-known in the art. Inasmuch as the heat sealing unit or means is operated in'a definite synchronized relationship with the feeding mechanism to form the heat seals at proper locations on the casing during travel of the latter, it follows that an alteration or adjustment of the unit becomes necessary to vary its speed when the speed of the feeding mechanism is varied, to form bags of a new or different length,

d in order to properly relocate the heat seals on the casing and at the bottom of bags and thus reestablish the aforementioned relationship. Avail able sealing units of the aforementioned character have been found unsatisfactory in certain respects and contain many undesirable features and disadvantages, for instance, a precisional as well as manual alteration or adjustment of the unit which is not only highly vexatious, but entails considerable time and labor on the part of the operator, and, in instances where immediate a locations on the bags and which unit functions in connection with various bag lengths without the aforementioned adjustment or alteration, thereby eifecting a savings in time and labor and often an increase in production.

Another object of my invention is to provide a heat sealing unit or means of the foregoing described character which operates, in response to the speed of the casing, to effect heat sealing or fusing of the casing at predetermined locations.

An important object of my invention is to provide sealing means of the foregoing described character which is equipped with a sealing element or means normally operable at a speed disproportional to the linear speed of the casing and which operates during engagement with the casing at a speed commensurate with the linear speed of the casing.

Another important object of my invention is to provide a sealing unit of the foregoing described character which is simple in construction, durable in use, emcient in operation, economical in manufacture and capable of being incorporated within bag fabricating machines already out substantial modification thereof.

A further important object of my invention is to provide a sealing unit of the foregoing de-' scribed character which is capable of being operated in synchronism with one or more like or similar units to insure effective fusing or sealing panying drawings from which the several fea tures of the invention and the advantages attained thereby will be readily understood by those skilled in the art.

Referring to the drawingswherein like referin use Withence characters designate like parts throughout the several views:

Figures 1 and 2 are diagrammatic plan and side views, respectively, of a bag fabricating machine having my invention incorporated therein, various parts or components being sectionalized and others omitted for clarification.

Figure 3 is an elevation, partly in section, of my novel heat sealing means or fusing unit, certain of the parts being broken. away and r'ee moved.

Figure 4 is a sectional View taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 illustrating the sealing element in fusing engagement with the casing.

Figure 6 is a diagrammaticside elevation of the machine, on an enlarged scale, iuus'trating the various progressive steps in forming bags from the casing.

\ In practicing my invention, as illustrated in the drawings, a Web or sheet 5 t cellulose materi'al, for instance, *Pliofilm, of a desired width isv drawn, from a supply source, under and around a forming plate or device 6, of. a. conventional design, mounted on the bed or table 7 of. a bag forming machine at the web receiving endthereof. A pair of tucker rolls. 8 are disposed above the plate 6' and. coact with. the latter to effect longitudinal. folding of the. web manner to form a relatively flat tube or casing 9 having loweri and'upper walls It and I 1, respectively, and with its upper wall H being, provided with overlapping side portions or margins 12' disposed centrally of the side edges of the casing and. extending longitudinally throughout. the length thereof, it being understood that the margins are sealed together and. thereby from a longitudinal'se'am. Pre acent the plate Q, a pair of upper draw rolls l3 are mounted above and transverse'ly of the table while a single draw roll it is disposed subj'acht the rolls I3 and ooacts with the latter to draw the casing 9 thei'ebetween, from the plate 6, and feed the casing towards the delivery end" of therifachine, the roll M being provided with a driven shaft it. As the casing is fed from the draw r'olls' l3 and" Hi, it passes through severing mechanism comprising a rotatable k nife i6 fi-xe'ad to-a pair of discs I! mounted on a shaft 48 disposed transversely above casing and aroll lit-mounted subjacent the In! and provided with ashaft. The roll It cooperates with the knife IE to effect transverse severing of the casing 9' into sections 213 asthe casing. travelsv through the sevei i'ng' mechanism and towards the. delivery end of the machine. A pair of upper pick-up rolls 2| are mounted above and transversely of the table-while a single pick-up roll 22 is disposed subjacentthe rolls- 2i and cooperate withthe latter to receive the sec tionsZU therebetween and. feed thelatter towards an adhesive applying device, the lower pick-up roll 22 being provided with a power transmitting shaft 23. The adhesive applying, devicecom'prises an adhesive reservoir 2-4: containing a suitable. adhesive and is equipped with adistributing roller 25 engaged by an applicator. 26 carried by a cyhnder 'Z'finounted on a shaft 28 disposed aboveand transversely of the table andwhich applicator. cooperates with a roll 29. over which the sections are fed. to apply adhesive A to. a relatively narrow transverse zoheonv a, portion til of the upper wallv l I of eacheof thecasings immediately adjacent the leading end portion 3| of. the. section. As. the adhesive is. applied to. the. portion 4 3d, the sections are advanced towards and pass through creasing mechanism comprising a creaser drum 32 mounted on a drive shaft 33 and provided with a plurality of slots 34 in which is received a creasing blade 35. The blade 35 is mounted on a cylinder fixed to a shaft 36 superjacent the drum and which blades serve to tuck the leading end portions 31 of the sections into the slots 34 and thus effect folding of the end portions 3! over the immediate. adjacent portions 30' to secure the portions 3t and SI together by the adhesive to form the closed ends or bottoms of the bags 38. When the portions 30 an- 3! are thus secured, the bags 33 are discharged in upright positions onto a deck 39, one after the other; from whence they are removed in any suitable manner. In order to power the machine, an electric motor 40 is provided which is.: operatively connected to a variable speed unit 4!, the latter being equipped with a drive shaft provided with a pulley 42 connected to. a pulley 45 mounted on the shaft 33 by means of a belt 44, the shaft 33 of the tucker blade cylinder being driven by the shaft 33 by suitable gearing or the like. The cylinder 21 of the. applicator 26 is driven by means of a pulley 45 fixed on. the shaft 28 and connected to a pulley it on the shaft 33 by meansof a belt 4? and which belt 41 is also trained about a pulley 48 mounted on the shaft 23 of the draw rollv 22. for effecting, rotation ofthe pick-up rolls. The opposite end of thev shaft 23 hasiixed thereto a pulley its which drives the shatt l8 by a belt 59 leading to a pulley 5! on the shaft, 18 for effecting rotation of the blade l6 andv thus operating the severing mechanism. For. driving the draw rolls and regulating the speed thereof, I provide a change gear assembly comprising a. gear 52 meshing with an intermediate gear 53 which inturn meshes with a gear 54. mounted on a jack shaft 55 having fixed thereto a pulley 56 driven by and connected to a pulley 5?, fixed to the shaft 23, by means of a beltfia, the shaft. 23 thus serving. to drive the shaft t5. By replacing the I change gears with others of various sizes, the

linear speed or the casing it" may be regulated to form bags of different lengths or sizes. has

much as the machine disclosed in the. drawings and heretofore described isof an ordinary constructi'on and forms no part of the presentinvention per se,, a more detailed disclosure thereof is not. deemed. necessary, it being understood that the machine constitutes but one type in which my. inventionv may. be incorporated therein as a combinative. component. thereof, and: that myinvention may be employed. in conjunction with. other similar typesof machines.

order to: effect. the aforementioned and ob- J'ective heat sealing or. fusing of the bag wallsto gether' and; over a desired: transverse zone, I provide a heat sealing; or. fusing unit which i dis posed on the machine between the forming plate 5, and the draw rolls and which unit comprises a roller so constructed of a material" having rela tivelysoft or. yieldable surface, for instance, rubher, and provided with a driven sliaft it i on which ismounted. a pulley tzdrive'n by a belt tit-trained about. a similar pulley 6 1 fixedto the-shaft I5. The: roller Ed is rotated at a speed coincident with that of. the roll M" and commensurate with the linear speed of the casing it passing thereover. The ends of the shaft iii are rotatablyjournaled in suitable. bearingsattached tothe machine and which bearingsserve: tosupport the roller 60 be low and in tangential relation with theeasi-ng Ni- 'A cylinder 64 is disposed above the roller and is provided with trunnions rotatably mounted in suitable bearings carried by the machine and with one of the trunnions being elongated and constituting a hollow shaft 65 on which is loosely mounted a pulley 6t driven by the belt 56. Adjacent the pulley G6, the shaft 65 has fixed thereto a collar iii provided with a radially extending clutch pin 68 normally engaged by a similar pin 69 extending axially from the adjacent radial face of the pulley G5 and which pin to, by engagement with the pin 68, serves to effect. rotation of the cylinder, the pulleys 49 and 86 being of a diameter to insure rotation of the cylinder at a speed considerably slower than that of the roller 50 and disproportionately with respect to the linear speed of the casing it. A. coil spring'lii has its ends connected to the pulley 6t and pin 68, respectively, and normally functions to maintain the pin 68 in driving engagement with the pin 69 whereby the cylinder fi l is rotated in unison with the pulley lit.

A fusing or heat sealing element comprising an elongated block '55 i inset within the cylinder 64 and extends throughout the length of said cylinder with a portion extending radially outwardly beyond the periphery of the cylinder 64 for engaging the casing it a hereinafter made apparent. The block is formed with a longitudinally extending bore provided with a mica lining H and in which is disposed an electric heating coil it having its terminals connected to theinner ends of a pair of insulamd electric wires is leading into the cylinder and outwardly therefrom through the hollow shaft 65 with the outer ends of the wires being connected to a pair of commutator discs Bil, respectively, mounted on the shaft 55 and insulated from the shaft 65 and relative to each other. A pair of brushes 8! have wiping engagement with the discs Bil and are connected by wires 82, respectively, to an electrical source of energy whereby the heating coil is energized for heating the block.

In operation-assuming the casing IE) i being drawn from the forming plate 6 by the draw rolls I3 and [4 between the roller 6 and cylinder te the block 15 is rotated about the axis of the cylinder 64 and engages the casing l0 and thereby compresses the casing and the face of the roll til as illustrated in Figure 5. As a result of the block thus engaging and compressing the casing and roll 60, a driving connection is established between the roll 66 and the block whereupon the block is rotated at a speed coincident with the roller Bil and commensurate with the linear speed of the casing, it being understood that as the rotation of the block is thus accelerated, the pin 68 moves away from the pin 69 and against the tension of the spring It to permit the block to assume the speed of the casing NJ. As the block is rotated out of engagement with the casing, the spring l0 functions to again effect driving engagement of the pin 68 with the pin 69, the fore going operation being repeated upon each revolution of the roller Bil. During engagement of the block with the casing, the upper and lower walls I 6 and width of the seal being defined by the engaging face of the block. The present invention is applicable and wholly effective with respect to the heat sealing or fusing of both single and multi-ply bags and those formed with reentrant or bellows-folded side walls as well as the so-called flat type. In some instances, for instance, when the machine is op-. erated at relatively high speed, the period of engagement of the sealing element 15 i not always sufficient to provide an effective fusing of the easing walls together and in these instances, the machine may be equipped with a plurality of my sealing units arranged in adjacent relation and so synchronized that their various sealing elements function in progressive order to render the fused seal fully effective."

Without further elaboration, the foregoing will so fully explain the invention that others may, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt the same for use under various conditions of service. Moreover, it is not indispensable that all the features of the invention be used conjointly since they may be employed advantageously in various combinations and subcombinations.

It is obvious that the invention is not confined to the herein described use therefore as it may be utilized for any purpose to which it is adaptable. It is therefore to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific construction as illustrated and described, as the same is only illustrative of the principles involved which are capable of extended'application in various forms; and the invention comprehends all construction within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a machine for forming bags from a traveling casing of fusible material having opposed walls fusible together over transverse zones adjacent the ends of the bags to form heat seals through said zones with the lengths of the bags being controlled by the casing speed; powered means for causing travel of said casing at a preselected casing speed within a preestablished range to define said lengths; sealing mechanism for effecting said seals during said travel and comprising a rotatable member adapted to be engaged by said casing throughout its travel and connected to and rotated by said powered means at a speed commensurate with said casing speed, a clutch device connected to and operated by said powered means, a fusing member normally connected to said powered means by said device and rotatably by the latter into engagement with said casing at a speed out of said range to establish fusing relation with said zones, said fusing member being releasable from said powered means by said device in response to the speed of said rotatable member upon engagement of said fusing member with said casing whereby said fusing member accords with the speed of said casing to effect dwells with said zones during said engagement to thus form heat seals through said zones at any speed of said casing within said range.

2. In a machine for forming bags from a traveling casing of fusible material having opposed walls fusible together over transverse zones adiacent the ends of the bags to form heat seals through said zones with the lengths of the bags being controlled by the casing speed; powered means for causing travel of said casing at a preselected oasing speed within a preestablished range to define said lengths; sealing mechanism for effecting said seals during said travel and sesame comprising a rotatable fusing bar extending transversely of said casing, a roller adapted to be engaged by said casing throughout its travel and connected to and rotated by said powered means at a speed commensurate with said casin speed, an overdrive clutch connected to and 0perated-hy said powered means, said bar being normally connected to said powered means by said clutch and rotatably by the latter into simultaneousengagement with said casing and driving relation with said roller at a speed out of said range to establish fusing relation with said zones,- said barheing releasable from said powered means by said clutch in response to the speed ofv said roller upon engagement of said bar with said casing whereby said bar acoords with the speed of said roller to effect dwells with said zones during said engagement to thus form heat seals through said zones at any speed of said casing within said range;

- 3. In a machine for forming bags from a trai elin'g easing. of fusible material having opposed walls fusible together over transverse zones adjacent the ends of the bags to form heat seals through said zones with the lengths of the bags being controlled by the casing speed; powered means for causing travel of said casing at a preselected oasing speed Within a preestablishecl range to define said-lengths; heat sealing mechanism for effecting said seals during said travel andcomprising a compressible roller adapted to be disposed on one side of and engaged by said casing throughout its travel, a rotatable shaft adapted to be disposed transversely of the opposite side of said casing and adjacent said roller, a collar fixed to said shaft, a pin carried by said collar, a member rotatably mounted on said shaft and provided with a pin engageable with said first mentioned pin for rotating said shaft in unison with. said. member, a fusing bar fixed to said shaft and rotatable into simultaneous engagement with said casing and compressing relation with said roller, driving means connecting said powered means to said roller and said shaft and effective for rotating said roller at a speed commensurate with said casing speed and for r0tating said bar at a speed out of said range during engagement of said pins, said bar being effective for separating said pins upon engagement of said bar with said casing whereby said bar assumes the speed of said roller to effect dwells with said zones during said engagement to form heat seals through said. zones at any speed of said casing within said range.

4. The structure as set forth and defined in claim 3 including; a spring connected between said member vand said collar to maintain said pins in engagement with each other during rotation of said bar while out of engagement with said casing.

RAYMOND J. NEBEL.

References Cited in the file or this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,125,758 Waters Aug. 2, 1938 2,422,725 Gilfillan M June 24, 1947 2,444,685 Waters July 6, 1948 2,466,387 Curtis Apr. 5, 1949 2,467,879 Billeb- Apr. 19, 1949 2,491,048 Jenkins d. Dec. 13, 1949 

